TallDave wrote:The fact the FOIA was rejected on certain grounds doesn't mean there aren't others-- in addition to competitive considerations, the sponsors may also want to keep a lid on things. "Harm the contractor's position" may just be the first box checked on the list (or the one that requires the least effort to prove).
I have the impression that Rick has been hiding behind the "gag order", which certainly exists in his contract, leaving the impression that he wanted to be more open, but - so sorry - the DoD won't let him talk yet. Perhaps the FOIA request has forced him to admit that he would prefer to play his cards close to his chest.
Alternatively, I could imagine that the Navy comes to him and says, "Those jokers at talk-polywell have saddled us with an FOIA request. We told you hanging around there would just cause trouble. We've got lots of good reasons to deny access. Some of them you know about, some of them you don't. Some might be covered by the FOIA, some unfortunately are not. We want this off our desk now, and the easiest way for us is if you declare commercial interest for EMC2. You created this problem, you fix it."
(I'm a scientist. I love to analyze data. This FOIA business has developed into another of those frequent topics here that is pure speculation, sans all data. That goes for Rick's character, too. There is a prima facie case that he has not been leveling with us, but if we knew all the facts, he might turn out to be a saint, or an even bigger monster. I think there's nothing more to say.)